Wild Space
by Far-seer 2100
Summary: Mass Effect meets Firefly, with a little Star Trek thrown in. Come join Captain "Mal" Shepard as he and a band of misfits help save the galaxy. Rated M for Language, and Violence.
1. Chapter 1

Wild Space

**AN: Hey guys, this story came to me at the same time as Triple Steps. It my version it's Firefly meets Mass Effect, with a little Star Trek thrown in. Now lets get ready for a wild ride. Beta is xkittx831**

_**Chapter One: It Must Be Monday**_

_**Year: 2183**_

_**Location: In Orbit of Eden Prime**_

There were three things that Captain "Jonathan Malcolm Shepard" hated. One: hangovers from drinking the night before. Two: slavers attacking the planet he was on. That was way too much work than he wanted to deal with. The last one was giving Mal a headache: minor officials with too much power.

"I don't care if the space port is locked down, I have a delivery for the farmers planet side. I am also carrying supplies for the Alliance Marines."

The only reply to this point was the same line that the drone has been repeating for the ten minuets. Captain if you attempt to land you will be placed under arrest, and your ship will be impounded. Remain in orbit if you wish, but you will not get clearance until the all clear has been given."

_"Ung Jeong Jia Ching Jien Soh."_ Mal cursed under his breath, the Chinese curses were a legacy of a girl he had dated who loved old vids. Flipping off the radio he turned to his co-pilot and engineer, "Zoe, I do believe that idiot means for us to crash in a fiery blaze."

Zo'rena Xen vas Rayya, or "Zoe" to her friends looked at her captain, the blue mask of her black encounter suite with its gold trim flashing in the light. "Yes, Captain. I am sure that bosh'tet just loves ships blowing up on his watch."She said it with such a deadpan voice that Mal had to respond.

"Now see that sass right there, what happened to the shy lass who asked for a ride six months ago. I swear you have been corrupted by some unsavory characters."

The young Quarian just chuckled, "Captain, you and Jayne are the only people I have been around."

Mal looked affronted, he called back into the crew quarters of the ship."Did you hear that Jayne? Did you hear that sass? I think you have been a bad influence on her."

Laughter rang down the short hallway, then a red-head women stepped into the cockpit. Janence "Jayne" Shepard stopped by her older brothers chair. "Mal don't give Zoe a hard time. Besides we all know you are a scoundrel."

Mal tried to look innocent, and failed miserably. "This is mutiny, what ever happened to respecting the captain?"

The ladies just started laughing, when a huge ship nearly crashed into them. Mal cursed, _"Ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng_, strap yourself in Jayne that_ Hwen Dan _shook the ship out of a stable orbit. Zoe try to stabilize us."

Zoe's hands were flying over her control panel, "No good Mal, we're are humped if we don't set down."

Mal, swearing to do awful things if he got a hold of the other ships captain, "Lock out be damned set course for the spaceport."

Zoe gave an, "Aye Captain" then set in the new course.

Mal spoke back to Jayne, "That ship was going in mighty fast to be up to any good. You want to head back to the weapons locker and prepare for folk with unmannerly intentions?"

Looking serious the former Infiltrator, she had resigned her commission after she lost her squad to Thresher Maws on Akuze. "Right. I will also get your coat ready. God knows you never wear armor."

The former Marine Soldier, who had also resigned after the bloody mess on Torfan, just smiled ruefully. "Come on Jayne, you know I am just too good-looking to be seen in armor."

Zoe having finished the course change, mockingly agreed with here Captain, "Yes sir, that's why, uh-hu."

Mal grumbled,"I am surrounded by uppity women."

_**Location: Spaceport**_

The ship that set down was a modified freighter. The design was inspired by two different vids. They had taken the cockpit and crew quarter hallway of a Firefly transport only flipped, so it sloped down, then fuse it with a small Klingon Bird of Prey rear half. The person who designed it said that this experimental model would be the rage when it caught on. He was wrong, he sold it to a brother and sister just getting out of the Marines to pay his debts. The Duo loved their new ship, being fans of the vids themselves. They turned into a cargo hauler, modified it with the best weapons, engines, and shields they could get their hands on. Five years later a ship called "Serenity", lands on a war-torn Eden Prime.

The ramp lowered, Mal walked down long brown coat ruffling in a sudden breeze, bringing the smell of smoke and blood to him. The modified coat was his answer to armor, several small shield generators were sown into the inner lining of the coat. At his side in a leather holster was a modified pistol, this pistol was a custom piece he designed himself. Using pressurized gas and power packs, the gun looked like something you would have seen in the old west. He looked over his shoulder as his sister came down the ramp. She had a modified sniper rifle, with the same old-fashioned style over her shoulder. She was wearing a black coat, that in addition to the shield generator, had a cloaking system. She had a rangefinder slash scope piece in her eye, and was putting on a harnesses of grenades.

"Jayne leave the grenades, were are investigating not starting a war."

Jayne looked at her brother, "I don't know Mal, I like to keep my options open."

Zoe bringing up the rear with her modified short-barreled shot-gun holstered at her waist, said, "You know better than that Captain. Jayne loves her explosives."

Mal turned back to the scene of destruction, "You know, you might be right, lets move out."

Closing the entry and drawing his pistol he lead them to a train, a small trip later they wandered into a scene from a nightmare. Synthetic beings were putting people on spikes to be impaled, others were gunning down anyone trying to get away. At this sight Mal whispered, _"Yeh Lu Jwo Duo Luh Jwohn Whei Jian Guay_, Zoe am I seeing what I think I am seeing?"

Zoe as stunned as her captain replies, "Geth, they haven't left the Veil for three centuries. What are they doing here?"

Jayne looking grim sights along her rifle,"Nothing good, say the word Mal, I will give those souls some peace." She aims her rifle at a Geth pointing its weapon at struggling soldier.

Mal takes a breath, "Jayne you take that shot, and things will get mighty dangerous for us. We are just folk now, not soldiers." He looked at Zoe who nodded, Mal sighs, "If we pull this off you know what that makes us then."

Jayne looking serious replied, "Big damn heroes." She holds her breath, then fires.

That shot unleashed hell, running down a small incline Mal let out a trio of shots, BANG... BANG... BANG then he slides behind cover. Zoe right on his heels he signals to go left, while he covers her. Rising he looks at the remaining Geth in the area. Sighting on one he blasts the synthetic in its flashlight shaped head. As it falls, its friend is taken out by sniper fire.

Mal yells at the soldier, "Grab a weapon, then get moving." Mal watches as Zoe took down the two remaining Geth with two quick shots. He addresses the now armed soldier, "Angels of mercy were watching out for you friend, thank them that we got to you before you ended up like those poor souls."

The soldier was a nervous wreck she stuttered out, "What's going on, those things just attacked without warning. "

Mal just shrugged, "Those things are Geth for a reason, you would probably know better than us."

Jayne had come down the hill to join them. "They are probably here for the thing that they locked the spaceport for Mal."

The soldier cursed she removed her helmet, "I am Nirali Bhatia from the 212, thank you for saving me." Nirali checked her rifle, then continued, "I was separated from the rest of my unit when these." She paused looking for words, "Rākṣasa attacked."

Mal nodded, his translator picking up the word. "Which way did the rest of your unit go?"

Nirali pointed to the north, "They moved up the path in that direction."

Mal nodded again, "OK we have folk in that direction that might need a helping hand." He points the direction indicated, "Let's be neighborly, an oblige them."

Zoe and Jayne just rolled their eyes, "Yes Captain\Mal."

Mal mock glared at them, "Cheeky brats, the both of you."

Moving up the path, the four raced on. The sounds of screams, and gunfire were in the air. They encountered several more Geth units. Mal was in a real bad mood, the blood shed brought back the horrors of Tofran. Wrestling with the ghosts of his past Mal fought, his gun a symphony of revenge for the fallen. They crested a hill just in time to see a woman in white and pink armor, take cover from a trio of Geth.

The Geth paused, with humans now surrounding them they hesitated. That hesitation cost them a sudden nimbus of blue light surrounded two of the units, slamming them in the ground. Mal quickly fired at the remain unit, taking it out of operation. Seeing no other enemies in the area Mal holstered his weapon. It was never a good idea to have weapons in hand around twitchy Marines.

"Well now, looks like we are not the only Angels of Vengeance on the field today." Mal watched two figures in armor join the first soldier. "Here now, you wouldn't happen to belong to the 212 by any chance." Mal pointed his thumb to Nirali, "we picked up this lost lamb, and decided to return her to the flock."

One of the helmeted soldiers laughed, taking off her helmet the soldier revealed a person that Mal, and Jayne haven't seen in a long time. Lieutenant Commander N7 Adept, Jenifer "Jen" Shepard, the Lion of Elysium, looked at her younger siblings. "Hey you two, you should really call mom more often. She is starting to think that I am an only child."

Mal and Jayne could only stare in shock, then Mal let out a, "Huugh."

After getting over there surprised at seeing their older sister Mal asks, "What in_ Guai _are you doing here _Jieh_? Last I heard you was on some _Jahn_ frigate just out of dry dock."

Jen smiled at her brother then turned to her squad mate, "Kaidan meet my younger siblings, Mal and Jayne" She turned to the other soldiers in the area, "I want a report, but are you all right?" Jan trails off.

The soldier taking that as her cue, spoke up, "Gunnery Sergeant Ashley Williams of the 212 ma'am!" She looks at Nirali, "One of two survivors apparently. It is good to see you made it out Bhatia."

Nirali saluted the officers, "It was a close thing, Chief. I have these three to thank for my safety."

Jen nodded at the two soldiers, "Good. I am glad you are alright. Now report, what is the status of the Prothean Beacon."

Kaidan looked at Jen, "Ma'am, that information is classified."

Jen responded, "These two are former Alliance." She looked at Zoe, "And any one they trust should be OK. Besides with this amount of chaos, the Beacon won't stay classified for long."

Kaiden saluted, "Yes, Ma'am."

Mal just snorted quietly , while Jayne muttered, "Boy Scout."

Zoe stepped forward, "A Prothean Beacon, why would the Geth care about that." She shook her head, "The Geth haven't been outside the Veil in three centuries. Even when new Prothean sites, like the one on Mars are uncovered. It doesn't make sense."

Jen took in the new information, "We can find their motives later first we need to secure the artifact." Jen looked at her siblings, "What about you three, what are your plans?"

Mal looked at his crew, "We will run with you till we hit the docks. After that we need to refuel our ship then make for the black."

Jen nodded,"OK, lets move out."

The way back to the spaceport was a lot easier with two Biotics. They wove their space magic, setting gravity on its head. This reduced the danger considerably. Things took a turn for the horrifying, when the bodies impaled on spikes began to move. The spikes lowered, then blue monstrosities began to shamble forward.

Mal spoke with quiet horror,_ "Wo Bu Shin Wo Dah Yan Jing_. What under the sky have they done to those people?"

The rest of the squad couldn't answer. Jen spoke up instead, "Send these poor souls back to their rest."

As the Husks, as they would later be known moved closer, Mal opened fired and made a precise head shot, stopping one in its tracks. Jen looked at Mal's weapon with amusement. "Still a cowboy at heart, Little Brother?"

Jayne snorts, "What's this 'at heart' nonsense? Mal's always been a cowboy."

Zoe piped up next, shot-gun barking. "You mean he was always like this, I thought it was an act he put on."

Mal looked offended, "It hasn't even been an hour, an already my crew is betraying its dashing captain for his ugly older sister."

Jen's fist lit up with blue intensity, she asks sweetly, "Who are you calling ugly, dear Brother?"

Knowing there was no way to win, Mal just mumbled something incoherent, Jen nodded, then launched the throw towards the last Husk. The party reached the did site, and found nothing. Ashley informed the Commander that the Beacon must have been moved to the space port. The huge ship that nearly rammed Mal out of the sky took off at that moment.

Mal looked up, "Ain't that an ugly sight?"

Jayne nodded, "Who ever designed it had no appreciation for grace or subtlety."

They moved on, and eventually reached a prefab unit with locked doors, Jayne being an Infiltrator quickly broke the lock. The terrified survivors grateful for the rescue, shared some supplies, then gave the group a name of a smuggler at the spaceport. The group moved on when they heard a shot. They rushed towards the dock, mowing through the few remaining Geth in the way. When they arrived at the spaceport, a dead Turian was lying in plain sight, blue blood leaking from his head.

Kaiden, shook his head, "Commander, its Nihlus."

Jen looked away, "Damn the Council will not be happy with this mess. What happened here?"

A movement in the crates made the party point weapons at the sound. Kaidan called out, "Alliance Marines, who ever is in there, come out."

A small man came out, "OK, don't shoot, I'm out."

Jen looked at the newcomer, "Did you see what happened here?"

The small man looked even more nervous. "Wwwwhat", he begins to say when Mal cuts him off.

"Now friend don't even think about falsehoods now. We all have had a trying day, and we ain't in the mood for fei hua, dohn-ma."

The nervous man just raised his hands, "OK, your Turian friend there was looking around when another one he called Saren shows up. They talk for a minute, then your friend turns around, that's when the other one put that hole in him."

Jen looks confused, "Who is Saren?" She shakes her head "We will find out later, we need to secure the Beacon." She turned to the man, "Did you see where they moved it?"

Powell pointed to a train platform, "They moved it yesterday."

Jen nodded, "OK, let's move out. Mal, you're coming with us to the docking area, right?"

Mal nodded, "Ya, our ship is there, we are with you until then."

The battle on the train was fierce, a huge unit the Zoe called a prime was making trouble for the group, at least it was until Jayne launched a grenade at the machine.

Jayne smirked at Mal, "Leave the grenades, hu?"

Mal just smacked the back of her head lightly, "Move out _mie-mie_, and leave the sass to Zoe."

When they got to the end of the line, an alarm rang out that there were bombs in the area.

Mal cursed, "Those_ Lio Coh Jwei Ji Neong Hur Ho Deh Yung Duh Buhn Jah J'wohn _are trying to blow up my ship."

As the party moved out to fight the remaining Geth, Jen remarked, "You know I should really tell mom how bad your language has gotten."

Mal looked at his sister in betrayed shock, while the others hid, or some didn't even try to hide, snickers.

Mal grumbled, _"Tian Xia Suo You De Ren Dou Gai Si." _He fired and destroyed a Geth platform

Jen smiled as she smashed a Geth against the wall, "What was that? I didn't quite catch that."

The Tech people moved to disarm the bombs while the rest of the party ended the threat. Finally, the last bomb was defused, and the last drone was down, the Marines moved to secure the Beacon with Jayne. Zoe and Mal went to their ship to make sure the Geth didn't leave behind any surprises. They were refueling the ship, when a yelled "JAYNE" sent them running back to the others. They arrived to find Jayne lying on the ground unconscious, the rest of the squad looking worried. The Beacon was a smoking wreck.

Mal looked at Jen, "What happened?"

Jen looked like she was going to say something, when Kaidan cut her off.

"I was going to take a closer look at the Beacon, to make sure that it wasn't damaged. I guess I must have tripped a security field. Your sister pulled me out, but got stuck her self. Don't worry we already called for e-vac, and the Normandy has one of the best doctors in the fleet aboard."

Mal still didn't look pleased, but he calmed some what, _"How W'rin Bu Lai, Whai W'rin Bu Jwo_. OK we will meet you in the air."

They headed back to their ship to find the ramp down, and Mal drew his weapon. "Now I don't know who or what is in there, but I am not in the mood. It has been a trying day, now I am gonna count to three, and if you make me come in after you, I will make my displeasure known."

Before Mal could count, two figures came down the ramp in a hurry. One of the figures in a suit that wouldn't look out-of-place in a high society function. The other was a young women in grease stained coveralls. They both had their hands up, the young man spoke first.

"Wait! We were just hiding from those things." The young lady nodded rapidly.

"Ya! We weren't going to hurt nothin'. Honest." She brightened suddenly, "Oh, my name is Kaywinnet Lee Frye, just call me Kaylee. This is Dr. Simon Tam."

Mal just looked at Zoe, "It's just one of those days. isn't it?"

Zoe nods, "Yes sir, it must be a Monday."

Chines\Hindu Translations:

**How W'rin Bu Lai, Whai W'rin Bu Jwo**

Things never go smooth

**Tian Xia Suo You De Ren Dou Gai Si**

Damn everyone in the 'verse

**Lio Coh Jwei Ji Neong Hur Ho Deh Yung Duh Buhn Jah J'wohn**

Stupid son of a drooling whore and monkey

**Mei-Mei**

Little Sister

**fei hua, dohn-ma.**

crap talk, understand

**Wo Bu Shin Wo Dah Yan Jing**

I don't believe my eyes

**Guai**

Hell

**Jieh**

Big Sister

**Jahn**

Shiny

**Ung Jeong Jia Ching Jien Soh**

Filthy fornicators of livestock

**Rākṣasa**

Monster

**Ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng**

Frog-humping son of a bitch

**Hwen Dan**

Bastard

**Yeh Lu Jwo Duo Luh Jwohn Whei Jian Guay**

do enough nighttime travels and one will eventually see a ghost, means speak of the devil, or scary talk will make it appear


	2. Hang Overs Suck

Chapter 2: Hang Overs Suck

**AN: Sorry for the delays, I am working on Triple Steps, too. Real life has sucked lately, that's why my stories have been delayed.**

When Jayne came to, her head felt like she got into a drinking match with a Krogan. Groaning softly, "That is the last time I go drinking with Mal."

A Dignified laugh brought Jayne's attention to her surroundings, she looked around the medical bay, then cursed her brother.

The Doctor, Jayne assumed the lady was a doctor being in a med bay, started to speak with a distinct British accent. "You seem to have regained your sense of humor since the last time we spoke, Ms Shepard."

Jayne stared at the woman, "Dr Chakwas, hu, it's a small galaxy," Jayne gave her surrounding another look, "We on Jen's ship then?"

Karin Chackwas looked at her patient with a small smile,"Yes, we are on the Normandy, and you have been out for fifteen hours. Your siblings will be relieved; they were worried about you."

The sound of the door opening made the two ladies look in that direction, a tall black man with Captains stripes strode into the room. Jayne saw her sibling coming in right behind the Captain, he wore captains strips, Mal took a long look at her then remarked, "Bout time you got out of bed, lazy bones. The rest of us have real work to do whilst you sleep the day away."

Jayne smirked at her brother, it was just his way of telling her, "I am glad you are all right"

Jen took a long look at her little sister, "Doctor, is there anything wrong?"

The good doctor replied, "Commander your sister is fine. Her beta waves while she was under indicated strong dreams, physically she is fine."

The Captain took this as as opportunity to introduce himself to the youngest Shepard, "You gave us all a scare, Miss. My name is David Anderson, I am the Captain of this vessel. I hope you can share with us what happened with the Beacon?"

Jayne looked at the Captain, then to her brother, who nodded. Jayne sighed, "It was messed up, a jumble of sights and sounds that didn't make any sense. The big thing though, was everyone was dying- killed by some sort of machines."

Captain Anderson looked thoughtful for a moment, "Will you be able to tell the Council what you saw?"

Jayne looked at the Captain with a 'Are you kidding me' gaze. Then Jayne said as much, "And tell them what, I had a bad dream?"

Captain Anderson looked stern when he replied, "Like it or not you are the only person that interacted with the Beacon, the Council will want to debrief you themselves, regardless. This business with Saren, that is troublesome though. He is one of their top Specters, Any allegation made against him will surely set the Council on edge."

Mal looked like he was deciding on how best to answer that, when Jen asked her commanding officer, "Surely the Council won't ignore our testimony?"

Mal just barked a cynical laugh, "That's right _Jehi-Jehi_, the masters sitting pretty in their Ivory towers care what the ground pounders have to say."

Jen glared at her brother, she opened her mouth to retort, when Captain Anderson interrupted,"Enough! You two arguing the point won't bring us anywhere. We need to present to the Council a united front if we are going to get anywhere with our case against Saren."

Jen reluctantly nodded,"Yes sir."

Mal grumbled, but he didn't raise any more objections. Captain Anderson nodded, "Very good, Commander go see Joker. Find out how far we are from the Citadel."

Jen gave an, "Ay ay, Sir," then left the med bay.

Anderson turned to Mal,"You should probably get to your own ship as well Captain. We will meet at the Ambassadors Office on the Presidium."

Mal nodded,"Let me bring Jayne up to speed on recent events, and I will be happy to oblige."

Anderson nodded, then he waved to the Doctor. They both left the sibling for a moment of privacy. Mal blew out a long breath, "Mei-mei we stepped into it big this time. The goings on of the powerful are not for the likes of us to get tangled in."

Jayne gave a rueful chuckle at that, "Mal you know we couldn't have done anything different. Not if we wanted to be able to live with ourselves, anyway. So what did I miss while I was out?"

Mal chuckled at that,"Well now that is a tale, now that you're all better, I will share the adventures I had while we head back home."

**Flashback: 14 Hours Prior**

Mal stared at the two stowaway's in mystified bemusement,"The whole planet is falling apart, and you hide in the most noticeable ship in the port?"

Kaylee looked excited,"But Captain she looked so shiny, I had to see her engines. The way the drive core is rigged is a thing of beauty, but the wiring needs some work. If you replace the fifth, and third circuits, you should be able to burn at full speed longer."

The two humans, and one Qurrian look a little taken aback by the techno rant, well, the humans at least. Zoe looked like she suddenly found another believer in a land of heathens. She looked like she was going to start on a rant herself when Mal interjected, "Now that's fascinating an all miss, the question remains, though. What am I going to do with you?"

Kaylee deflated a bit, when Simon entered the conversation, "I don't know about Ms. Kaylee, but I need to go to the Citadel. I have some cargo that I need to deliver safely. I am, of course, willing to pay."

At the sound of payment Mal looked a little happier, "I have to clean out the hold first, the people here will need the supplies, and I was already paid for that job."

Simon nodded, "While you are doing that I will go retrieve my things, they are close by." Simon left the area to gather his possessions.

Mal looked at Kaylee, the same question in his eyes. She glanced down bashfully,"Can I come with you? All I had and everyone I knew lies in ruin now." She says the last part with a small catch in her throat.

Now, Mal liked to think of himself as a tough guy, he was a former Marine after all. Something about the girl screamed to Mal that she should only be all smiles and sunshine. That sad expression screamed to something primal in Mal, like he need to find what made her cry, then utterly destroy it. Zoe was glaring at Mal, she was also stroking her weapon, letting Mal know the wrong answer could have... repercussions.

Mal sighed, "If you really have nothing and no one I suppose it would be mighty thoughtless of me to let a bright girl like you drift in the wind." Mal looked at Zoe,"What do you think of engineering and a rotation in the Mess?"

Zoe looked at Kaylee, who was looking excited, her hurt driven back by her natural disposition."Yes Captain, that would be for the best I think."

Mal nodded,"Alright, you take an eight-hour shift in engineering, after which is the evening meal. We try to serve a proper meal for dinner with the whole crew present. Chores will be drawn at random every week, and you will be in charge of cooking dinner every fifth day. You will be paid a ten percent share of everything we make. That fair to you?"

Kaylee nodded rapidly, "Thank you Captain, you wont regret this." Saying this she runs to gather her belongings.

Mal looked at Zoe, "Help me unload the cargo while I contact those scientist we ran into, they can take hold of the supplies and use them until the Alliance sends some relief." Zoe agreed, and the two got to work.

**Flashback: Break**

Jayne looked at her brother as they make their way up the stairs to the airlock connecting both ships together. "So we got a couple of new recruits do we?"

Mal looked back, then smirks,"The story ain't over yet, it gets a little more interesting when we get into the Black."

**Flashback: 7 Hours Prior**

The Serenity flew the void following the course the Normandy set, its crew settling in to the new jobs or taking up their old, when a security monitor flashed. Mal turned to the indicator with a frown, they only had one passenger and Mal had explained to him that the cargo hold was off-limits during flight. Tapping a screen, Mal brought up footage of the cargo bay and sure enough, the good doctor was fiddling with one of his crates, staring intensely at a read out screen.

Mal cursed softly, "Gorram it, I told that idiot the cargo bay was not a public area." He got up,"Zoe, I am going to see what the Doctor is up to, would you kindly keep us on course?"

Zoe looked up from her controls,"Yes, Captain"

Mal crept down the hall, past the living areas and kitchen, stopping by the weapons locker he retrieved his pistol and non lethal rounds. Mal didn't want to damage his ship if a fire fight broke out. Holstering the pistol, he moved to the stairway by the guest quarters and restroom. Walking down, he heard Kaylee tinkering in the engine room. Moving ever further down the stairs, Mal walked into the cargo bay, then he crept behind the doctor still looking at his screen. He tapped Simon on the shoulder, the doctor started, turning sharply.

Mal smirked, "Forgot your toothpaste?" A quick rabbit punch brought the doctor to the deck gasping, Mal took a step back drawing his pistol,"Now I could've sworn I said this place was off limits. Now imagine my surprise when I saw you here." Mal got a hard look in his eye,"The first reason, you are setting up a trap somewhere for me and mine. This option gets you thrown out the airlock. The second you are a smuggler of some kind, and you are using me as a patsy to move illicit goods on the Citadel." Mal chuckles a little, "If it is the second you show us the goods, and as long as it isn't too horrendous we can all go on our merry way."

Simon groaned, then slowly stood with his hand raised. "It's not what you think Captain. I was just checking my readouts to make sure that the contents were safely stored. I assure I mean no harm to you or yours."

Mal chuckled menacingly, "Oh I am sure you are a man of your word, only knowing you a few hours an all." Mal glared at the doctor, "Are you going to stand aside, or am I gonna have to resort to... unpleasantness."

Simon started to plead earnestly, "Captain, please do not open that box, you could hurt the contents."

Mal just shook his head, "Last chance, Doc. Move."

Simon, seeing there was no way out, suddenly got a crazed look in his eye. Seeing it Mal fired, the stun rounds knocking the not-so-good Doctor out. Mal just sighed, "Stupid kid."

Walking to the control panel, Mal activated the controls to open the box. The box opened with a hiss. Looking in, the last thing Mal expected to see was a naked young women laying in the fetal position. Slowly coming to, the young lady sat up, taking a look around. She then promptly screamed bloody murder before passing out.

Flashback: Break

Jayne stopped her brother, "Wait, the Doc had a girl in the box? Did you space the bastard? How's she doing?"

Mal raised a hand to stop the questions, "The truth in this case is stranger than fiction. When I woke the Doc to do some of the things you just suggested, I decided to get the Doc's story as the girl was still out."

Flashback: Seven Hours Prior

Mal had woken the Doc not to gently, when the doctor started to stir, Mal spoke dangerously,"What this then, a little something to sell in some back alley? Or maybe just a stop along the way to Omega?" Simon looked shocked at the questions, so Mal continued on a different track, "Or is she for you? True love perhaps?"

Simon looked sick at that, "No Captain, none of those things." Standing up he went to the unconscious woman's side, "No Captain, this is my sister, River."

Flashback: Break

Jayne started to smile at the revelation, "It's like a soap opera, what will happen next?"

Mal just smirked, "Just wait, it gets better."

**Flashback: Six Hours Prior**

Mal and Simon moved the young women to the ship's small Med Bay. Mal summoned Kaylee to the bay, then opened an intercom channel so Zoe could hear what was going on. Mal turned to the Doc as Kaylee arrived, "OK Doc, the floor is yours, tell what in the gorram hell is going on."

Simon took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts. Then he began, "First I need to explain something about me. I am very smart, top of my class all through Harvard Medical School, I finished my internship at John Hopkins Hospital within eight months. Gifted would be the term used. Now saying that, when I say my sister makes me look like an idiot child I want you to have my full meaning."

Simon softly ran his hands though River's hair and continued, "River was more than gifted, she was a gift. At the age of four she could do quantum mathematics like you or I would do basic addition. Music, art, anything she put her mind to was mastered with ease. When she tested positive for Biotics, that is when things changed. She was eleven when the offer came, an exclusive school, with the best facilities money could buy. I remember she was so excited, she could not wait to go. We kept in touch naturally, a year after she went the letters became less frequent. I finally got one in a code we used when we were younger. It said they are hurting us, get me out."

Zoe voice broke the sudden quiet, "How did you do it?"

Simon barked a rueful laugh, "Money, and luck. Years of planning, finding the right people to bribe, getting the right access codes. I finally got my window though, she was being moved to a new station. I staged a break out, and we have been on the run ever since. I will never forget the pair that helped me, their names would probably mean nothing to you. I will also never forget the logo on the ship we broke her out of, a black diamond in a white diamond with a two golden flanges on either side."

Mal whistled at the story, then he cocked his head, "Those two you mentioned, one would happen to be a little Japanese girl would she?" At Simon's startled look, Mal smiled, "Kasumi's up to her old tricks then?"

Zoe's laugh echoed throughout the small room, "You know that klepto Mal, she probably stole everything that wasn't bolted down."

**Flashback: Break**

As Mal finished his story, Jayne let out a small laugh, "Kasumi hu, she must have loved playing the hero." The pair were by the cockpit airlock now, about to head to the Serenity when two voices interrupted Mal's reply.

"I am telling you Joker, We need to correct our drift point zero one degrees left or we will miss our target vector."

The sibling looked at the cockpit where a man in a cap that read SR-1 was arguing with a man with the silliest looking mustache. Joker's, the main pilot, reply was sharp, but humorous,"And I told you Wash, the drift is just fine. The number two does not need to tell the number one how to fly his ship."

The Shepard siblings just stared at the duo, when an amused voice behind them broke the argument, "Is there a problem here?"


End file.
